Disclaimer: This web site is designed for general information only and does not create attorney-client relationship. Persons accessing this site are encouraged to seek independent counsel for legal advice regarding their individual legal issues.

The Plaintiffs, Jack "Doe" and Jill "Doe," both minors, do hereby allege that (1) they suffered grievous and permanent injuries when a steel bucket manufactured by the Defendant, Imperial Bucket Corporation, proved to be of unsafe design and manufacture, and without proper safety guards, so as to allow it to be operated in an unsafe manner by these minors; and (2) the Defendant is guilty of such gross product liability as to be responsible for these injuries and therefore should compensate Jack and Jill for a sum greater than five million dollars ($500).

Plaintiffs were both completely untrained in the proper operation of the Defendant's bucket, hereinafter referred to as "the pail," when they attempted to convey such pail up a steep incline, hereinafter referred to as "the hill."

The pail manufactured by the Defendant was made of steel and weighed 1.6 pounds when empty. it was designed to be carried by a rounded metal handle, or "bail." Depending on the material used to fill the pail, the weight of such pail could vary between 1.9 pounds (cotton) and 61 pounds (pig iron). Unless one received proper instruction in the use of this pail, it could easily be overloaded, causing it to become unstable.

The pail included no directions for safe use, no warnings of any kind about the potential danger of the pail, and no safety devices to protect individuals from suffering injuries when using this pail. The pail could be operated by minors who could not possibly be aware of the inherent dangers in the defective design of this pail and would therefore be subject to injury.

Jack and Jill will testify that they were able to move forward in a skipping (def.: to proceed with leaps and bounds) manner up the hill, holding on to the pail, which swung precariously between them. Upon reaching the top of the hill, they proceeded to fill the pail with a clear liquid, hereinafter referred to as "water." The weight of the water will be affixed through laboratory testing. What they could not possibly have known is that the defective design of the pail permitted it to be filled with water to an unsafe level.

As Plaintiffs began carrying the now hazardous steel pail down the side of said hill, the water began shifting in the pail, causing the weight to be unevenly distributed. While this motion, known scientifically as "sloshing," did cause a partial reduction in the contents of the pail, this had the effect of causing addition unbalancing of the pail. Jack and Jill, neither being experienced in the trade of carrying a pail of water down a steep incline, suffered extreme difficulty in maintaining control over the pail. In their effort to retain control of the pail, both Jack and Jill, individually and simultaneously, did lose their balance owing entirely to the instability of the pail.

According to police reports , Jack apparently lost control of the pail and fell down the hill. Jill, a young female weighing approximately forty-eight pounds, could not possibly have been expected to retain control of the pail without assistance and immediately came tumbling after.

By reason of the foregoing and by reason of the Defendant's negligence, Plaintiff's were severely bruised, injured, and wounded; suffered, and still suffer, and will continue to suffer for some time to come, physical and mental pain and great bodily injuries. Specifically, Jack broke his crown in three different places in addition to fracturing his ribs and right arm. Jill sustained bruises and contusions to her legs, ankles and wrist. Some of these injuries may well be of a permanent nature so as to affect the lives of these minors forever and one day.

The Imperial Bucket Corporation, being aware for an indeterminate time that the bucket they callously manufactured and offered to market had serious design flaws and under certain conditions could cause severe injury, nevertheless did continue to manufacture and market such a bucket to the public. They failed to take the necessary steps to inform the public of the potential for injury inherent in the use of their product. That they did so, and continue to do so, indicates a disregard for the public welfare, for which punitive damages might be deemed appropriate.

Until such design problems as noted are corrected, the Imperial Bucket Corporation should be enjoined from offering their product for sale to the public. They should also be required to recall all such defective products in existence and make such appropriate restitution and repairs. All persons past and present in possession of this dangerous product should receive notice that under certain conditions, even with proper precautions, use of this product might result in permanent, disabling injury. Minors should be prevented from purchasing or possessing this product without proper parental supervision.

Due to the use of this defective product, Jack "Doe" and Jill "Doe," minors, have suffered irreparable injury and must be compensated in line with the substantial pain and suffering they have endured.

PETITION FOR GUARDIANSHIP AND OTHER LEGAL RELIEF IN THE MATTER OF BEAUTY, SLEEPING

The petitioner, Mr. King, hereby requests (1) that an order be issued by this Court prohibiting any or all extraordinary or heroic measures being taken now or at any time in the future to resuscitate, awaken, or in any way revive or sustain by artificial means their relation by blood, Sleeping Beauty; and that no experimental treatment be administered and no persons unknown to this Court through its trustees be permitted access to said Beauty; and (2) that the petitioner, Mr. King, and his spouse be named now and forever after legal guardians of the subject, trustees of all assets, and, in the event of her death, executors of her estate.

THE FACTS: The aforementioned Beauty has been surviving for seventy-one years in a trance-like state consistent in every way with the medical condition coma. This state was induced by an unknown drug injected into her system with a needle. The unknown chemical substance injected either knowingly or unwittingly on or about the subject’s sixteenth birthday, did cause grievous damage to her central nervous system and brain stem. This hallucinogenic substance did also cause similar harm to others engaged in the service of Beauty and believed to have had marginal physical contact with the subject. The immediate result of such drug introduction was a total complete loss of consciousness, the inability to communicate in any form or whatsoever with any persons and the complete and total cessation of all bodily functions save breathing.There is no proven antidote to this drug. The source, or sorcerer, of this drug is unknown to the petitioner.

Beauty, Sleeping, remains in such a trancelike state as described to this date. She has not responded to any attempt to revive her with traditional, proven, safe, and accepted means of resuscitation.

The petitioner claims knowledge that a person or persons not specifically known to said petitioner have made or will make heroic attempts to revive Beauty, Sleeping using a highly experimental treatment medically referred to as “artificial respiration” (def.: breathing through unnatural means), commonly known as “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.” There is no evidence of any kind to support the use of said treatment in this case. Additionally, as the drug known to have caused the subject’s condition has officially been labeled a “dangerous drug” whose properties have not sufficiently been tested, and which drug is proved to have caused the onset of similar symptoms to persons having only casual contact with Beauty, there exists a clear and present danger to the general populace that any type of physical contact with the subject may result in uncontrolled spread of such symptoms.

Petitioner thereby, to protect the general well-being, requests a court order be issued immediately prohibiting such experimental treatment by any and all persons whosoever now or at any time in the forever after.The petitioner also requests the Court decree that should the physical state of the subject change in any way, shape, or form, no measures except those currently accepted by the medical community as immediate aid to lessen pain and suffering be employed in her behalf. It is the wish of the petitioners that no artificial or mechanical means of any kind known now or at any time in the future be used in this case to extend the condition in which Beauty currently resides.

At the commencement of this drug-induced trance, Beauty, Sleeping, was in possession of a substantial amount of material goods, including but not limited to items of pure gold, jewelry, acreage, and a castle (one). Such holdings were put into a trust to be administered by her blood relatives at the commencement of this current state. Those people charged with supervising said trust have perished through primarily (but not limited to) natural causes, such as age and war. In the absence of supervision, the value of such holdings has substantially increased, but without proper legal authority to oversee such holdings, there exists significant risk of loss or depreciation of the value of such holdings. The petitioner hereby declares to the Court that any and all members of the immediate family of the subject, Beauty (including but not limited to father, mother, siblings of any gender, cousins by blood first through sixth, aunts, and uncles), have perished and the petitioner is the sole surviving blood relation. The petitioner voluntarily relinquishes all rights to privacy for matters relating to this claim and will make available to this Court samples necessary for the scientific establishment of this blood link through any and all known means.As the sole surviving blood relation of Beauty, Sleeping, the petitioner requests that the Court appoint him legal guardian of Beauty, Sleeping with full power of attorney and such access to herein described trust to enable full and proper management of these assets to the benefit of Beauty, Sleeping, her heirs, and her estate in total.

In the event of the untimely death of Beauty, Sleeping, the petitioner humbly requests that the Court appoint the petitioner the sole executor of the estate of the subject, with full powers to take such actions as necessary to benefit the estate of Beauty, Sleeping, now or at any time forever and ever.

[i] Visit our FB Page: BPO Employee Legal AdviceWarning and Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer; and you are not my client. With the limitations of an Internet forum, a thorough review of your concern is not possible. View my comments at YOUR OWN RISK. It is best to actually retain a lawyer for your individual concerns.

The Defendant, Imperial Bucket Corporation, cannot be held liable for negligence because the requirement of proximate cause to sustain a claim based on Article 2176 of Civil Code of the Philippines is lacking. The cause of the Plaintiffs’ injuries is the accident of falling from the hill and not from the use of the steel bucket manufactured by the Defendant.

these cases from a book,@ David Fisher, Legally Correct Fairy Tales, Bedtime Classics Translated into the Legalese, Warner Books, 1996. they're not supposed to be case studies.

from the facts, it states that the design of the pail allowed it to be overfilled and its slsohing caused the fall:

As Plaintiffs began carrying the now hazardous steel pail down the side of said hill, the water began shifting in the pail, causing the weight to be unevenly distributed. While this motion, known scientifically as "sloshing," did cause a partial reduction in the contents of the pail, this had the effect of causing addition unbalancing of the pail. Jack and Jill, neither being experienced in the trade of carrying a pail of water down a steep incline, suffered extreme difficulty in maintaining control over the pail. In their effort to retain control of the pail, both Jack and Jill, individually and simultaneously, did lose their balance owing entirely to the instability of the pail.

I would take the position that the pail manufacturer is liable.

_________________

[i] Visit our FB Page: BPO Employee Legal AdviceWarning and Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer; and you are not my client. With the limitations of an Internet forum, a thorough review of your concern is not possible. View my comments at YOUR OWN RISK. It is best to actually retain a lawyer for your individual concerns.